GAZA, July 26: Israeli forces killed 24 Palestinians in fighting across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, including at least nine militants, three children and a handicapped man, medics and witnesses said.

Israel has stepped up air strikes and launched raids into Gaza to stop rocket attacks and recover a soldier captured by militants on June 25.

The army has killed 140 Palestinians since it began its assault. About half were civilians. Wednesday’s death toll in Gaza was the highest in two weeks.

Among those killed were seven loyalists of Hamas and one gunman from the Islamic Jihad faction, which is also dedicated to destroying Israel.

Another gunman was killed later, but it was not clear which group he was from.

Medics said two girls, one an infant, died when a tank shell struck a house near Jabalya, a Hamas stronghold.

A three-year-old girl was killed earlier in the day.

Nearly 60 people were wounded, including a cameraman for Palestinian television. Six were in a critical condition.

Israeli troops have pursued an offensive in Gaza while fighting on a second front in Lebanon following the capture of two soldiers by Hezbollah guerillas in a July 12 raid, but have failed to stop rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel.

Saeb Erekat, a top aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, called on the world to remember the plight of the Palestinians despite the conflict in Lebanon.—Reuters